The scream had already stopped.
That frightened Rin more than if it had continued. Kaelith ran ahead without slowing. His footsteps echoed through the stone corridors while soldiers rushed from every direction.
"What happened? Where was it?"
"I heard it near the barracks!"
"No, the west corridor!"
Everyone had heard it. No one agreed where it had come from. The fortress had become a maze of echoes.
By the time Kaelith reached the lower hallway, nearly twenty soldiers had gathered.
No monster. No blood. No broken doors. Only one man sat against the wall.
He was alive. But something about him felt...
Wrong.
His spear lay several feet away. His helmet had rolled across the floor.
He stared straight ahead without blinking. His breathing was slow.
Almost peaceful.
Yet his entire body trembled.
Selara immediately knelt beside him.
"Move."
The surrounding soldiers stepped back.
She checked his pulse. Normal. His breathing. Normal. His pupils. Normal.
She frowned.
